Linus didn’t move and was doing so poorly we thought he may have passed away on our car ride home.

The first day home I used a flea comb to literally remove hundreds of fleas one by one from Linus. I sat there with him in my lap for over 3 hours combing the poor little guy.

We got an appointment with our veterinarian first thing Monday morning and after his wellness check Linus was put on meds for the afflictions mentioned above.

Within a couple days Linus was feeling better and playing with his little pal Ralphie (my parent’s dog).

Ralphie used to knock Linus to the ground. When Linus got older he got his payback and would constantly knock Ralphie to the ground.

Did You Know: I’ve raised over a dozen guide and service dog puppies and when it came to potty training, Linus (my very first puppy) was by far the easiest to train.

The Camper

We took Linus camping in the Sequoia’s when he was about 1 year old. He was an awesome camping buddy. I have a few funny facts to share about our first camping experience.

POTTY TRAINING 101

Remember how I said Linus was brilliant when it came to potty training? Well we messed up.

The only place we had him potty was on the grass.

We didn’t realize this was the only place he’d ever potty until we got him to our campsite where there was no grass, only dirt.

He didn’t pee or poop for over 24 hours and we thought we were going to have to take him back down the mountain.

Fortunately he decided he couldn’t hold it any longer and did the longest pee ever (think Tom Hanks in A League of Their Own).

A CLOSE CALL

Linus didn’t want to get wet.

We let him off leash while we hiked down the river trail.

While hopping from rock to rock trying to avoid getting wet Linus nearly fell over side of a waterfall which was probably about 20 feet up with a shallow bottom.

THE BEST ALARM CLOCK

We let Linus wander our campsite off leash.

He always stayed close, but from time to time he disappeared down to the river.

We’d lose track of him, but when we called his name he’d happily come running up the trail.

Late that night we woke up to a strange noise and initially thought, BEAR! but it was coming from inside our tent.

After the initial grogginess wore off we realized Linus was gagging and as I struggled to find my flashlight I heard the inevitable sound and smell of dog vomit.

We found a half eaten sandwich, corn, and some other delicacies Linus apparently found and feasted on down by the river. YUCK!

Me and Linus hiking through the Sequoia’s. The waterfall doesn’t look to high, but it was about 20 feet. Linus almost fell over the falls…YIKES!

The Coyote Hunter

We lived in a condo on the golf course for the first 10 years of Linus’ life. This meant no big yard, but a huge playground on the golf course until…

HUNTING WABBITS

Our condo was on the first hole so in the early evening when there were no more golfers on the course I’d walk Linus on leash along the driving range fence then let him run around off leash near the second hole.

One day he spotted a rabbit and proceeded to chase him around the back of the driving range fence and then onto the DRIVING RANGE!

Luckily I was able to get him back under my control before he got pelted by golf balls.

That was the last time we let Linus off leash on the golf course until…

WILE E. COYOTE

We had beautiful sunsets over the golf course and I liked taking Linus for his evening walk around this time.

A few short years ago we were walking at sunset when Linus spotted a coyote.

To this very day I don’t know how he did it, but he slipped his collar and bolted across the golf course trying to catch this coyote.

The Comedian

Sometimes he would fart as he jumped onto the bed or the couch and look around like “who did that?!”

Other times he would fart and look at his butt like “where did that come from?!”

He bit my butt (playfully) to make both Colby and I laugh…I swear he was protecting me (and missed), but Colby thinks he was protecting him.

He liked to lay on our pillows on the bed, but would only drool on mine…leaving a nice little round wet spot. Thanks Linus.

And not to mention the random poo streaks on the pillows…but only on the pillows on my side of the bed, never Colby’s side.

Gentle Yet Firm

He was gentle, but laid down the law when need be.

Linus knew when he could play hard and when he had to hold back.

He would get really excited to see our family, but knew that with the older folks and the babies he needed to be calmer when greeting them.

He knew he couldn’t play too rough with the puppies, but made sure to tell them who was in charge.

He would knock them over when he thought they were playing to hard.

With the older dogs he would chase/herd them in the backyard until things got too rowdy and then he would make everyone take a time-out to settle down.

The Boss

Linus putting Charlie in time out.

He was the boss.

Linus was the king of our house. He always had the best seat in the house or the best spot at the head of the bed (on top of all of our pillows).

As he got older he was like a wise old grandpa. Everyone loved him…he was handsome, his fur was super soft, and he always played and looked younger than his age.

He was fast and spry even up to the very end when he wasn’t feeling good.

The vets told us that his heart disease was so advanced that they were surprised he didn’t show signs earlier that he wasn’t well…but that wasn’t his nature.

He’s tough and I feel like he didn’t want us to worry. He was definitely the leader of our pack.

It’s been hard to focus lately because I’m still so sad…and it’s hard to look at pictures of Linus because I just start to cry, but at the same time the pictures make me smile cause I imagine all the good times we had with him.

I feel very blessed and honored to have had seven years with Linus (I came into his life when he was six).

I’m sad my one-year old daughter wont really remember him, but she is very lucky to have had Linus watching over her and protecting her the first year of her life.

I hope Linus is having fun up in heaven…running around, chasing/herding other dogs, and playing with our other four-legged pets and two-legged relatives up there.

I know I’ll see him again in my dreams and I know for sure he’ll be watching over us because it’s just in his nature.

Thank you for everything Linus! I love you buddy…see you on the other side!

Run free Linus. Have fun playing and chasing puppies in heaven.

In Loving Memory of Linus November 7, 2004 – May 7, 2018 Rest In Peace, Linus. We Love You.

About Colby

Colby Morita has raised guide and service dog puppies for Guide Dogs of America and Canine Support Teams. He's been writing to the PuppyInTraining.com blog and sharing his puppy training tips from his experiences as a guide dog puppy raiser since 2007.

Comments

This made me cry. I am so sorry for the loss of your wonderful furry companion. I could really relate to this paragraph – it’s exactly how I feel about Missy:

“It’s been hard to focus lately because I’m still so sad…and it’s hard to look at pictures of Linus because I just start to cry, but at the same time the pictures make me smile cause I imagine all the good times we had with him.”

Thank you, Joan. I’m sorry to hear about your Goldens. I’m glad you ended up getting another. We’re lucky to have two other dogs at home to comfort us since Linus passed. One, Raven is also a Golden Retriever.

Our sincere regrets at the loss of Linus. He was instrumental in increasing our web presence after his review of the ComfortFlex harness. It is never easy to lose a friend. We all go through it but it never gets any easier and words just never seem adequate. He obviously had a good life and that is all we can ever hope to give them. All the best from the team at ComfortFlex.

Thank you for your kind words. Linus always knew when the ComfortFlex Sport Harness came out it was time to have fun mainly doing K9 Nosework training. We still miss him dearly and he’ll always be in our hearts. Thank you ComfortFlex Team I hope you are all doing well.

Your Linus looks just like my Shady-Lady. She was my and my son’s world. She would babysit Hunter while outside playing together; she always made sure he was safe. She knew him since his beginning. He was only 7 when she passed but thankfully he has numerous joyful memories of their time together.

We lost her to a gigantic abscess that began in her gumline. We finally noticed swelling under her eye but by then it was too late to save her. She passed away in 2013 when she was only 9 years old.

She was such a sweet little lady. Thank you for sharing your love of Linus with us and for reminding me of how blessed i am to have had my Shady-Lady for as long as I did.

Thank you for sharing your story about Shady-Lady. Even though it was a few years ago I’m very sorry for your loss. I feel blessed to have had Linus for 13 1/2 years and I’m glad he got to be Emma’s guardian for the beginning of her life. She won’t remember him, but we have some great pictures of her and him together.